Morris, a professional hacker, performed a vulnerability scan on a target organization by sniffing the traffic on the network lo identify the active systems, network services, applications, and…

Question

Options

• Ainternal assessment
• BPassive assessment
• CExternal assessment
• DCredentialed assessment

• A
  2% (1)
• B
  87% (47)
• C
  4% (2)
• D
  7% (4)

Explanation

Passive Assessment Explained

Why B is Correct: A passive assessment involves monitoring and analyzing network traffic without actively sending probes or interacting directly with target systems. Morris performed this by sniffing network traffic to identify active systems, services, applications, vulnerabilities, and logged-in users - a hallmark of passive techniques that observe rather than interrogate.

Why the Other Options Are Wrong:

• A (Internal Assessment): This refers to assessments conducted from within the organization's network perimeter, focusing on insider threats - it's about location, not methodology.
• C (External Assessment): This involves scanning from outside the network perimeter to simulate an external attacker - again, a location-based concept, not a traffic-sniffing technique.
• D (Credentialed Assessment): This requires valid login credentials to perform in-depth scanning of systems - Morris used no such credentials; he simply observed traffic.

Memory Tip: Think of Passive = Eavesdropping - just like passively listening to a conversation without participating, a passive assessment listens to network traffic without actively probing or engaging targets. If you see "sniffing traffic" in an exam question, immediately think Passive Assessment.

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